by Riva, Aline
As Sage took the bags downstairs, she had the keys to the car in her hand. The vehicles were still there and undamaged. She had a passing thought that maybe, when this was over, the world would get back to normal without much difficulty – once the zombies were gone, everything was still there, intact. Like their vehicles, ready to be set in use again... If it ever came it an end. But she didn't want to dwell on that as she went outside and loaded the car, life was still uncertain, but now they would head for the coast and maybe, find a better place, too. And when they got there it wasn't impossible that she would find Bess. She felt optimistic now, anything was possible...
Chapter 9
While Poppy went outside to help with packing up the vehicles, Joy was in the kitchen making coffee for everyone, because they would be driving through the night without rest and everyone needed to be alert. By now River had examined Mickey, and concluded he had no major injuries – but he had suffered a mild concussion whilst held prisoner, and she had advised him to rest and sleep, and given him painkillers.
Now Mickey was sleeping in the chair beside the fire, in clean clothing with a spare coat draped over the arm of the seat. He was sleeping so deeply he didn't wake as a tiny hand reached for the coat, drew it away and then as she carefully draped it up to his chin, he stirred but didn't wake. Then Angel reached for his gun and took it carefully. It felt heavy in her hands, but she knew what to do with it. She sat down on the rug at Mickey's feet, the gun in her hands as she watched the open door.
As Joy entered the room she stopped abruptly, staring at the sight of Mickey's long coat draped over him for extra warmth as he slept, and at his feet sat Angel, and the little girl had Mickey's gun in her hands... She took a deep breath, remembering her police training as she cautiously spoke up.
“What are you doing, Angel?” she asked, hiding tension and the fear that came along with realising, this little kid had seen her parents turn to zombies and partially eat each other. They knew nothing about her. This child had seen horror unimaginable and maybe, it had affected her in the worst possible way... Angel sat there with the gun in her hands, that loaded gun in her tiny hands as she looked up wide eyed at Joy.
“Mickey has a bad hand.”
“Yes, I know,” Joy said in a hushed voice, “Why did you take his gun?”
“Because my Uncle Max had disability. Mickey has disability.”
Joy took a cautious step closer, watching her finger too near that trigger as she dared not to make a sudden movement.
“Tell me about Uncle Max.”
“He used to live with us. Mummy and Daddy used to look after him. But the zombies got him. They ate him as we got to the car.”
Joy took a deep breath, taking another step closer.
“That's very sad,” she told her, “I'm sorry you lost your Uncle Max. Is that why you're holding Mickey's gun?”
Angel nodded.
“Mickey has disability. We have to protect him.”
Joy breathed a relieved sigh as she knelt down on the floor and looked into her eyes.
“Not everyone with disability needs protecting,” she told her, “Mickey can look after himself very well. He's killed zombies, Angel!”
Her eyes went wide.
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” Joy assured her as she reached slowly for the weapon, “And you don't need to hold his gun. He will want it back.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, very sure.”
Angel turned the gun on its side, handing it to her. Joy breathed an audible sigh of relief as she took the weapon from her.
“Thank you Angel,” she said, checking the weapon and putting the safety on before shoving it into her coat pocket, “Now, we need to have a little talk about guns. They're not for children, Angel. Now you are here, the grown ups will look after you - Mickey too, he doesn't need protecting in any way.”
Angel got up from the floor and reached for his weak hand, gently turning it over as he slept, studying it closely.
“Are you sure?” she whispered, taking care not to wake him.
Joy got up too and smiled warmly at the little girl who had been through so much yet still wanted to protect others from the zombies.
“Yes, I'm very sure.” she told her.
Joy walked over to the fireplace and Angel joined her, standing there looking up with those wide eyes that had seen too much horror.
“I miss Mummy and Daddy.”
“I know you do,” Joy said softly, “But we will look after you now, you're safe, Angel.”
The little girl paused for thought, frowning at a memory that had just come to mind.
“Mummy and Daddy were in the cafe for a long time,” she said, “I locked them in but went to see them until the glass went red.”
Joy recalled the horrors she had seen inside that locked room, two starving zombies eating one another... It was a sight she would never forget.
“And it's a good thing you stopped looking,” she told her.
Angel frowned.
“They wanted to eat me.”
Joy felt so very sorry for Angel. She was so young to have witnessed that.
“A lot of bad things happen now the world has changed,” she told her, “But it doesn't mean it won't get better. We're going to leave soon and go to the coast, we might find a really safe place to stay.”
Angel's eyes were wide as she looked up at Joy and spoke again.
“Mummy put her hand in Daddy and pulled out his guts. She was eating them.”
Oh god, no. Joy took a deep breath, not wanting to think how this would affect Angel... She leaned closer to her, putting her hand on her shoulder as the firelight glowed beside them, and spoke kindly to her.
“Listen Angel,” she said gently, “Mummy and Daddy were gone after they got bitten. It wasn't your parents who you saw doing those things. It was what they became. “
Angel frowned again, confused by her words.
“When they turned into zombies, your Mum and Dad were gone, they were not your parents any more,” Joy said to her, “What you saw was two zombies, not Mummy and Daddy, they died from the virus. Please try not to think about what they turned into. Remember them as they used to be.”
She slowly nodded, then she blinked back tears.
“But I have no Mummy and Daddy now!”
“And we will look after you,” she reminded her.
Angel nodded.
“Yes, okay,” she said quietly, then she turned away sadly, noticed Mickey's coat had slipped and went over to him, pulling it back up to his shoulder.
“I'll keep you warm.” she said.
Mickey opened his eyes, then a look of confusion came to his face as he reached for his coat and pushed it aside. He saw Angel standing beside him and she smiled.
“I was keeping you warm while you slept. You have disability like my Uncle Max.”
“What?” Mickey was still blinking away sleep as he sat up and saw Joy standing by the fire.
“She had an uncle with a disability – had,” she repeated, “And she wanted to keep you safe. She even took your gun to guard you.”
A look of alarm briefly registered in his eyes.
“Don't take my gun!” he said, looking sharply to the child, “You're a kid, you mustn't ever touch the guns, do you understand me?”
She nodded.
“Yes, I know that. You can have it back now. I gave it to Joy.”
Then she turned around and walked out of the room as Mickey looked at Joy in dismay.
“She took my gun while I was sleeping?”
“Apparently she had good intentions,” Joy added as she handed his weapon back to him, “But she's been through a lot, Mickey. We need to keep a close watch on her. She saw her parents turn in front of her and eat each other.”
He got up from the chair, shaking his head as he thought about the kid who had stolen his weapon.
“She needs to be kept away from guns!” he exclaimed, then he lean
ed on the armrest of the chair, getting his balance back as the last of his headache throbbed faintly.
“Are you okay now?” Joy asked.
Mickey nodded.
“Yes, I'm fine. I'm ready to leave.” he told her, and Joy turned off the fire, then followed him from the room. She paused to take a last look back, recalling the safer times they had spent here. She was sure she was not the only one who would miss this place, but it was time to move on.
It was almost morning when the vehicles pulled away from the farm house for the last time. They drove past the field where bodies hung on stakes to see more ragged figures moving in the tall grass near the woodland. Clearly, after feeding on those at the house, some of the zombies had escaped the inferno that had followed. But those wandering dead were no longer their concern as the convoy headed for the open road. The sun was rising by the time they saw the motorway signs that pointed toward the coast. As Sage followed behind the van she smiled, thinking of Bess. This was a large town, but maybe, there were safe places there – it was unthinkable that every town was over run completely...
Wickstall on Sea sat apart from the surrounding towns and villages by several miles. There was a belt of green land around the place, and long motorways that linked to it. And they still had a few miles to go and it would be a slow journey, because no main road was clear of wreckage, and every wreck had to be carefully negotiated. The worst of the pile ups began as they reached eight miles closer to the town, on the outgoing side. As Joy slowed the lorry, River slowed the van and as the vehicles came to a halt, Sage stopped the car. Morning sunshine was bright in a blue sky and the air had noticeable warmth about it now. They were on the cusp of summer, flowers grew at the roadside as butterflies flitted about, but the stench from the vehicles on the other side of the road was noticeable as flies buzzed around rotting bodies.
“This looks bad,” River remarked as she got out of the van and surveyed the scene.
“It's all outgoing traffic?” Chris asked as he joined her.
“A lot of people were trying to get away from there,” River told him, “The vehicles stretch right back. Some are piled into each other, some are simply abandoned. But there are a lot of bodies here.”
“Dead bodies, not zombies,” added Joy as she got down from the lorry.
She waited for Mickey to climb out and join her, then she crossed the road alone, stepping over a low barrier to approach a nearby vehicle. The glass was cracked on the front passenger side, old blood stained the interior. She noted the front of the car had rammed into the next vehicle and was buckled up. The driver was wearing a padded snow coat and was strewn across the seat in a state of heavy decay. Joy looked up and down the road, then climbed back, crossing over to rejoin the others. Sage was there now, after telling the kids to stay in the car. They sat there in the back seat looking on as the adults gathered in a group on the empty road to have a discussion.
“A lot of people tried to get away from the town – but that was in winter,” Joy told them, “The bodies are very decomposed and I'm guessing most died in the pile up. Any zombies would be long gone – there's nothing to wait around for with bodies locked away in cars. No food supply.”
The others cast a glance about the ghostly motorway. Here and there, where glass had been lost from broken windows in nearby vehicles, flies buzzed about the corpses and as the wind changed direction, it carried the stench of death away from the living and off across the nearby fields. There was nothing but open land all around as the warm sun shone down. There was now a hint of salt in the air, too.
“What do you think?” Joy said, casting a glance to the others.
“I say we go on,” Sage replied.
“You're staying that because you're hoping Bess might be in Wickstall,” she reminded her, “And maybe, no one is in Wickstall – it could be a ghost town by now!”
Sage looked hard at Joy.
“You just said, that crash was in winter! That was two seasons ago, Joy! A lot could have changed since then! That town is cut off as far as transit goes – for zombies. If they've cleaned up the town and put up barriers, there's every chance it could be safe - or at least partially safe!”
“And our village was like that once, until they got in,” Joy reminded her.
“I say we keep moving, see what the place is like, and if it's over run we drive on,” Chris suggested.
“He's right,” River agreed, “We need to know.”
Alex had been waiting back at the car, but now he wandered over after pausing to look at the vehicles piled up on the other side of the motorway.
“Are we going on, or not?” he asked.
“Yes, we are,” Joy replied with reluctance, “The outgoing traffic happened in winter. We're looking at an old scene of panic on the road that ended with multiple crashes, no doubt caused by zombies, but it looks clear now. We won't know what the town is like until we get there.”
“Get my bike out of the lorry,” he suggested, I could ride on ahead, I can get past the obstacles quicker - and I'll soon know if we need to turn back.”
The others exchanged a glance.
“No,” Sage said, shaking her head, “I don't think you know how we work, Alex. Everyone sticks together. We lost people back in winter and we decided, we all stay together. Everyone gets through this, we all make it if we stay united. You're not going out there on your own. You could drive into a horde.”
He gave a sigh of frustration, not wanting to fall out with any of these good people who had offered him a place in their group. They were right, there was safety in numbers.
“Okay, I'll do it your way,” he replied, then he headed back to the car.
“We'll go as far as we can into Wickstall,” Joy added, “If it's over run, we turn back.”
“Agreed,” Sage said with reluctance, then she headed back to the car as Chris and River started up the van. Mickey got into the cab of the lorry and Joy was last to return to the vehicle, pausing to look at the long cluttered line of wrecked and abandoned vehicles that had tried to flee the town back in winter. Seeing this sight, it could mean one of two things: Either the town was still over run, or control had partly been taken back since. They wouldn't know until they got there. She climbed back into the cab, closed the door and started up the engine.
As they drove on, windows were opened up in all three vehicles. The sun had more than enough heat to signal summer was arriving, and the air was fresh and carried the smell of salt on the breeze. The outgoing side still had wrecks littering it, but now they were spaced further apart. Here and there, rotting bodies were strewn about the roadside nearby, bones bleaching under sunshine, as abandoned cars looked ghostly parked at odd angles where drivers had tried to flee horror that had happened back in snow bound winter. On the inbound side, empty cars were easy to navigate around, it meant the van and the car had to stop often for the lorry to manoeuvre around wrecks and empty cars, but between this inconvenience, the road was clear. They carried on driving for several miles, and as the view of fields gave way to sun sparkled sea in the distance, they all felt a lift to their spirits. They were almost there.
Almost, until Joy sounded the horn then braked sharply, as the lorry skidded to a halt and River swerved the van and pulled over as Sage slowed the car and stopped right there in the middle of the motorway lane. As they sat in the cab of the lorry, Mickey's face was pale as he let go of the seat and looked sharply at Joy.
“Are you trying to get us all killed?” he fumed.
“No, I'm not, I just didn't know about that!” she snapped, gesturing to the view ahead of the low bridge – far too low to allow the lorry to pass through...
“This is ridiculous! It's a motorway, who designed this thing?” fumed Joy as she jumped down from the cab, looking to her small but high lorry and then to the bridge that made passage through impossible.
“There's probably another lane or route for larger vehicles,” Mickey added as he joined her, and as Sage came over and River
and Chris joined them, they all looked to the lorry, then to the bridge.
“There's no way of getting through?” Chris asked.
“Not without slicing off the top of the lorry,” River told him.
Joy gave a heavy sigh.
“The we'll have to leave it here. Let's unload, take everything we can that will fit into the van and the car, then me and Mickey will ride in the back of the van.”
“And take up space needed for supplies?” Mickey exclaimed, “I'll ride with Sage. She's got a spare seat in the front.”
“And I'm supposed to do what, sit on Chris's lap in the van?”
“Then you go in the car and I'll ride in the back of the van,” Mickey replied.
Sage stepped closer to the bickering couple.
“I can fit you one of you in my car – two small kids and one adult in the back, and a front passenger seat. Alex can take his bike. That frees up the van space for supplies and one passenger.”
“I'll take the van,” Mickey replied, then he paused to rub at his stiff leg, “It's so sore. But I don't mind a little more discomfort...”
Joy's eyes narrowed.
“Okay, enough of the emphasis on your sore leg, Mickey – you take the car!”
He smiled.
“Thank you, Joy, that's so thoughtful! And its not as if we have to go far, you won't be in the back of the van too long!”
Joy shook her head, looking away as she hid a look of amusement, how typical of Mickey to make a fuss to get the best seat for the three short miles into town...
“It's only three miles, Mickey!”
“And if we have to turn back, I'll change places with you,” he offered with a smile.
“You'd better!” she said as amusement danced in her eyes.